July 21 2024 Sermon
Sermon title: “The Feeding of the 5,000”
Scripture: Mark 6:30-44
(Other lectionary suggestions include II Samuel 7:1-14a, Psalm 89:20-37, and Ephesians 2:11-22.)
Mark 6:30-44
Feeding the Five Thousand
30The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; 36send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” 37But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42And all ate and were filled; 43and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.
The feeding of the 5,000 is probably the most famous of all the miracles Jesus is said to have performed. What really happened? And we are told all the people were told to sit on the GREEN GRASS. That observation pretty much had to have come from an eyewitness. This means it was in the springtime, and that means it’s close to Passover. And did you notice what Jesus did? He took the food and then blessed it, broke it, and gave it. That is what the early church did during Communion: the leader took the food and then blessed it, broke it, and gave it. The early church did what its members saw Jesus do!
But what DID he do here? There are several explanations or possibilities. He could have magically transformed the little bit of food into much more than was needed. Or - how about this - what if everybody was encouraged to share what he/she brought with others? It is amazing what your little bit and my little bit can do when it is given generously!
Oh, did you notice how Jesus teased his disciples? “You give them something to eat.” Did he have a twinkle in his eye when he said that? And did he already know what he was going to do?
Here is what N. T. Wright says: “What we are seeing here is a sign CREATION. ....It was the power of a totally obedient life, a life given up to the kingdom of God, to God’s sovereign and saving rule breaking in at last to a world for so long under enemy occupation. We are probably meant to make the connection between Jesus’ compassion for the crowds and his action with the bread and fish. God’s kingdom is not merely a matter of power, but also of overflowing love, and the two here go inextricably together.”
When you hear this story of the Feeding of the 5,000, do you wonder why God doesn’t feed EVERYBODY, including the needy of today? One answer is that God created YOU to help out and give. That idea may be in Jesus’ tease to the disciples when he said, “You give them something to eat.” But there is something else: God is not here (nor was Jesus here) to fulfill our every wish and desire. Look at some of the healings Jesus performed: he didn’t heal EVERBODY, but only SOME. Why? It’s a good question, and I’m not sure I can give a satisfactory answer, except to say that it was not God’s will to create the world and all that is in it for OUR satisfaction. And just because Jesus came - as it says in the Gospel of John – “that you may have life and have it more abundantly,” there will always be the struggle against the still-resistant forces of evil.
WHY will there always be that struggle? Because that’s the way God set things up at the beginning. The first few verses of Genesis try to explain that God created order out of chaos.....but that chaos and evil are always close by. Look at the story of the Garden of Eden. Life was perfect, until Adam and Eve screwed things up. Temptation is always near! Why did God create that way? No idea, except God created us as adults, thinking people and not robots. We are co-creators with God because God created us in his image. We may be God’s children, but we are more than giddy little simpletons. God gave us our minds so that we could THINK and REASON. And God gave us CHOICE: we can choose to obey him or choose our own way, which usually ends in disaster!
If you recall the beginning of today’s reading, we are told that Jesus and his disciples were trying to get away, to get some rest - why, they hadn’t even had any time to EAT! But what happens? A huge crowd is waiting for them before they even get out of the boat. And Sweet Jesus feels sorry for them, because they seem to be like sheep without a shepherd. So instead of saying, “Sorry! It’s my day off!” He ministers to them.
Of course, it is good that the person we call the Son of God thought of the needs of others over his own. However, because of this passage, so many pastors get burnt out because they can’t bear to say NO to someone who needs them. As I felt called into the ministry over 20 years ago, I discovered a group called the Interim Ministry Network, and I took a few courses with that group. One of the things the Interim Ministry Network emphasized is that ministers should take their days off and be sure to take their vacations. The thinking is, before you can save the world, you have to save yourself. And that’s a good point. I am reminded of what airline passengers are told: if oxygen is needed, and the masks are deployed, put yours on FIRST before you put one on your child. (I think I heard one flight attendant say that if the child is misbehaving, you might want to delay putting HIS on!) But seriously, you are no good to anybody if you aren’t in good health yourself. So, before you can save the world, you have to save yourself.
Back to the Feeding....did you notice that there was some food left over? Not only “some food,” but a LOT of food! Twelve baskets full, as a matter of fact. Do you think there is a reason that we are told there are TWELVE baskets, and not 11 or 13? OF COURSE there are 12, the number of the tribes of Israel! For the author of Mark, Jesus is restoring a lot of things, including a NEW Israel, if not the old.
A final point: whatever you think about this story of Feeding of the 5,000, maybe one takeaway is that WHATEVER you have, big or small, a little or a lot, bring it to God and see what He can do with it. You just might be surprised! Don’t give up and say, “That's impossible!” Remember that all things are possible with God. Also, regardless of how impossible the task seems, give it a try. You and I aren’t called to be successful, but we ARE called to be faithful. Give it a try! You just never know what your itty-bitty amount combined with other itty-bitty amounts that are magnified by God can become. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Pastor Skip